Get out while you can! - Anonymous HighWire Employee Review

1.0
Feb 10, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Junk food if you like to be unhealthy

Cons

The management team constantly harping on about flexibility, the HR team saying we won this award for most flexible employer. However, when it comes down to it, when you do WFH or you come in later, you get interrogated by your line manager they also love to micromanage! The constant clicks between line managers and the senior management team. Making you feel like a stranger as you walk into a room and they're all gossiping, then it goes dead silent. The complete lack of honesty when the "click" all say they're WFH and then you find them in the pub mid afternoon! Sitting in pointless meetings to celebrate people's success for just doing their job! A petty excuse to give out a medal for participation in my opinion. All shouting and dancing and promising the world but really it's all smoke in mirrors. There is a serve lack of processes being followed extending deadlines, skipping tasks or processes to deliver a half functioning product to a customer. The promise of a bonus in your contract however never actually receiving one even though you've met all your objectives and preformed exceptionally well throughout the year. Finding out from other colleagues that have been there for years that they've never got a bonus. The lack of cleaning the toilets, going into the toilets holding your breath everyday as they stank of poo, it was something we just had to put up with.

Explore other reviews about HighWire

5.0
Aug 8, 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The company is pursuing an exciting innovation path. We have been leading from a platform innovation perspective and are now pushing into some very exciting innovations for the next few years.

Cons

Get the message out louder....we are doing some exciting things for the publishing community and our innovative capability is exciting.

3.0
Jun 9, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

HighWire Press always was and still is a fairly typical Silicon Valley tech sweatshop, better than some, worse than others. What set it apart was that it was a non-profit which was a department of Stanford. It was great to be part of a world-class academic institution and Stanford had phenomenal benefits. HighWire also hired many extraordinarily smart people. While always chaotic, there was an all-for-one attitude for many years.

Cons

New executive management was brought in 3 years ago who executed brutal layoffs and constantly changed their strategy. Many of the best people were either layed off or quit when the managerial culture became so toxic. Workloads became enormous and people squabled to get get work off of their plate and onto somebody else's. Much of the work was off-shored to India with very mixed results. Things improved somewhat over the past year due to process improvements. The core technology is an antique, despite efforts to freshen it up around the edges. HighWire has recently been spun-off from Stanford as a privately held, for-profit corporation, so all of the benefits of being associated with Stanford have evaporated.

9
avatar
HighWire Response
9y
I apologize for the delay in responding however I thank you for your feedback. We have made many many positive changes over the last two years in the areas of focus, innovation and improved platform and core technology and will continue to take additional steps to improve. Should you have any further suggestions, I would be happy to meet with you any time to discuss.
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